虚拟学习团队英文

TeamdevelopmentandgroupprocessesofvirtuallearningteamsScottD.Johnson*,ChanidprapaSuriya,SeungWonYoon,JaredV.Berrett,JasonLaFleurCollegeofEducation,UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign,345EducationBuilding,1310SouthSixthStreet,Champaign,Illinois,USAReceived26November2000;accepted4June2002AbstractThisstudydescribesthecommunitybuildingprocessofvirtuallearningteamsastheyform,establishrolesandgroupnorms,andaddressconflict.StudentsenrolledinanHRDmastersprogramtaughtentirelyonlinewerestudiedtodetermine(1)howvirtuallearningteamsdeveloptheirgroupprocess,and(2)whatprocessandstrategiestheyuseastheyworkthroughthestagesofgroupdevelopment.Bothquantitativeandqualitativemethodsofinquirywereusedtocapturethedynamicinteractionwithingroupsandtheunderlyingfactorsthatguidedgroupprocessanddecision-making.Theresultsshowthatvirtuallearninggroupscancollaborateeffectivelyfromadistancetoaccomplishgrouptasks.Thedevelopmentofvirtuallearningteamsiscloselyconnectedtothetimelinefortheirclassprojects.Virtualteamsarealsosimilarintermsoftheirtaskprocessandtheuseofcommunicationtechnologies.Incontrasttoface-to-faceteams,theleadershiproleofvirtualteamsissharedamongteammembers.RecommendationsarediscussedinordertofacilitatepeakintegrationofvirtuallearningteamsintoInternet-basedtrainingcourses.#2002ElsevierScienceLtd.Allrightsreserved.Keywords:Adultlearning;Cooperative/collaborativelearning;Distanceeducationandtelelearning;Learningcommu-nities1.IntroductionInthe21stcentury,organizationsfacemanychallengesfromincreasedglobalizationandrapidlychangingtechnologies.Whiletechnologicaladvancementsintheworkplacecontinuetobetheprimaryfactorinmaintainingacompetitiveadvantage,organizationsalsorecognizethe0360-1315/02/$-seefrontmatter#2002ElsevierScienceLtd.Allrightsreserved.PII:S0360-1315(02)00074-XComputers&Education39(2002)379–393*Correspondingauthor.Tel.:[phone];fax:[phone].E-mailaddress:[e-mail](S.D.Johnson).needtoaddressthetechnicalknowledgeandskillsoftheworkforce.Thishasledtoanincreasedemphasisontheroleoflearninginorganizations,whereindividualsmustviewlearningasamajorcomponentoftheirworkresponsibilitywithintheorganization(Marsick&Watkins,1993).Thenatureofworkwithinorganizationsisalsochangingfromindividualassignmentstoteam-basedactivities.Thechangetowardincreasedteam-basedresponsibilitieshasparalleledthegrowthofcommunicationtechnologiesthatcanbeusedtosupportworkteams.Teamsarenowabletocommunicate,collaborate,andperformirrespectiveoftimeandspace(Cantu,1999).Theroleofteamsisnotconfinedtotheworkplace.Today’sworkforceandeducationprovidersarerealizingthebenefitsofcollaborativeteamsinthelearningprocess.Researcherswhostudygroupsworkingontasksorworkteamsalsousetheterm‘‘group’’asaunitofanalysis(Hack-man,1990;Sundstorm,DeMeuse,&Futrell,1990).Inthisstudy,theterms‘‘group’’and‘‘team’’areusedinterchangeably.Researchershavedemonstratedthatlearningismosteffectivewhenstudentsworkingroups,verbalizetheirthoughts,challengetheideasofothers,andcollaboratetoachievegroupsolutionstoproblems(Deutsch,1962;Johnson&Johnson,1989,1994).Whilethebenefitsofcollaborativelearninghavebeenestablishedforface-to-faceteams(Means,Schlager,&Poirier,1994),theimpactofdistanceandtimeonvirtualteamroles,functions,andprocesseshavereceivedlittleattention.Workinginavirtualteamisuniquebecauseofthephy-sicalseparationofthegroup,yetlittleisunderstoodabouthowdistanceandtimeaffectstheirabilitytomakeplans,communicate,andworktoaccomplishteamgoals.Thepurposeofthisstudywastodescribetheteamdevelopmentandgroupprocessofvirtuallearningteamsastheyform,establishrolesandgroupnorms,andaddressconflict.ThegoalofthisstudywastogeneraterecommendationsforintegratingsuccessfulvirtuallearningteamsintoInternet-basedtrainingcourses.Thisstudywasguidedbythefollowingresearchquestions:1.Howdovirtuallearningteamsdevelopanddeterminetheirgroupprocess?2.Whatprocessesandstrategiesdovirtuallearningteamsuseastheycarryouttheirteamtasks?2.TheoreticalframeworkUnderstandingteams,collaborativelearning,andteamenvironmentsisbecomingmoreimportantbecauseadvancesintechnology,globalization,andorganizationsaremovingtowardutilizingmorenetworkstructuresandteam-basedfunctions(Lipnack&Stamps,1997).Theterm‘‘virtualteam’’isbecomingmoreprevalentasteamsmovefrombeingprimarily‘‘co-located,’’whereteammembersarelocatedinonephysicallocation,to‘‘virtual,’’whereteammembersaregeographicallyunrestricted.Virtualteamsaregroupsofindividualswhointeractthroughvariouscommunicationtechnol-ogiestoaccomplishitscommongoals.Virtuallearningteamsarebeingusedineducationaswellascorporatetrainingprogramsinanattempttoenhancecollaborationandcooperativelearningexperiences.Intheexpandingmarketofvirtualuniversitiesandonlinedegreeprograms,virtuallearningteamsarebeingusedtoincreasecollaboration,communication,andultimatelystudent380S.D.Johnsonetal./Computers&Education39(2002)379–393learning(Bailey&Luetkehans,1998).ThesevirtualteamsrelyonInternettechnologiessuchasvideoconferencingandchatroomstointeractandbecomefunctionalworkgroups.Virtuallearningte